Successful launch of the Indian IRNSS-1E positioning satellite

Jan.25,2016

Image provided by: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), was successfully launched on a PSLV rocket at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southeast India at 09:31 local time on January 20 (13:01 JST). This satellite was put on a prescribed orbit (transfer orbit).

It will take several days to put IRNSS-1E on an inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) with an inclination of 28.1 degrees and a central longitude of 111.75 degrees east longitude. The IGSO is an orbit in which the geostationary satellite orbital plane is inclined. Just like the quasi-zenith satellite orbit (QZO), the satellite’s nadir point draws a figure eight from north to south centered on the equator (the altitudes and inclinations differ by positioning system).

IRNSS is a system composed of a total of seven satellites: four on an IGSO and three on a geostationary orbit (GSO). The recently launched IRNSS-1E is the fifth of these satellites. The remaining two satellites will be launched in February (IRNSS-1F) and March (IRNSS-1G).